The Sushi Chef: Oona Tempest and Toshio Oguma

The diverse backgrounds of sushi chef Toshio Oguma and apprentice Oona Tempest are what make Tanoshi Sushi NYC so unique and phenomenal.

Tanoshi Sushi NYC was born from a variety of happy accidents. King Ang, the owner, happened to come across an empty space on the Upper East Side that had no kitchen—which led him to make it a sushi bar. Toshio Oguma, the head sushi chef, was finishing up work in California when his wife found a Craigslist ad for an experienced sushi chef. Now, three years later, Tanoshi is creating some of most delicious sushi in New York City (and offering the most affordable omakase).

Toshio Oguma believes the most important part of making sushi is maintaining one's 'magokoro' (true heart), which is clear in each piece of sushi he presents to his guests. This philosophy also extends to his teaching. Oguma-san will teach anybody with one condition: they have passion.Through the work of his most recent apprentice—Oona Tempest, who works behind the sushi bar—one can see that this is definitely the case. With a background in Japanese art, Oona is just one more example of a series of fortunate and random events that has led to the success of Tanoshi.